Landmark Conference 2024

[nevadajoe]

Scranton gets a home game in the first round of the tournament hosting John Carroll on Wednesday at 4:00 PM. The winner will travel to meet Dickinson on Saturday.

John Carroll will be representing the Ohio Athletic Conference for the 8th year in a row. They are nationally ranked in giving up just under 7 goals per game. They have given up double-digit goals in just two games early in the season. They started the season 1-4 and are currently on a 10-game winning streak.

This will be their 8th straight appearance in the tournament.

2016 - Lost to RIT 29-6
2017 - Lost to RIT 29-8
2018 - Lost to Elizabethtown 9-6
2019 - Lost to RIT 20-5
2021 - Lost to F & M 19-6
2022 - Lost to Union 14-7
2023 - Lost to Dickinson 19-3

This will be Scranton's third appearance in the tournament and second straight.

2011 - Lost to Gettysburg 8-3
2023 - Lost to Gettysburg 22-9

This should be a fairly even game. If the Royals play offensively at the level that they have in their three Landmark tournament games, they should be a handful for the John Carroll defense. Scranton probably has a more athletic offense than John Carroll has seen all year and they are very adept at moving the ball and taking high percentage shots. The Royals also have a pretty solid defense of their own and they will need to play at a high level as well. It also is a plus that Scranton will be at home, where they are 7-1 this year with their only home loss coming to Salisbury 12-5 in the first game of the season.

It should be a close, maybe low-scoring game but I think the Royals will prevail and get a rematch with Dickinson on Saturday.

[nevadajoe]

Landmark teams played in 10 games which involved NCAA Division III tournament teams, compiling an overall record of 3-7.

Catholic (2-2) defeated Cabrini 12-11 and Pfeiffer (16-12) and lost to Salisbury 20-6 and Stevenson 18-12.

Elizabethtown (1-2) defeated St. Mary's 17-10 and lost to Swarthmore 22-8 and Stevenson 16-4.

Scranton (0-2) lost to Salisbury 12-5 and Dickinson 12-9.

Juniata (0-1) lost to St, Mary's 20-4.

[nevadajoe]

Scranton at home today at 4:00 vs. John Carroll.

John Carroll is a lot like Scranton in that they boast some very good scorers, a stout defense with a very athletic LSM and a solid goalie.

#13 Colin Morrissey (34 goals) and #5 Morgan Morrell (30 goals) are the two scorers on the attack line. #23 Braden Zarek and #8 Josh Lombardo run the midfield. Zarek led the team in assists with 22. #29 LSM Alexander Sykas led the team in caused turnovers (24) and ground balls (63). The defense is solid. #0 Michael Bevington, #9 Brody Forest and # 42 Camden Uchic played most of the year together. Their goalie, #77 Jon Gaglio, will be the OAC All-Conference selection, as will 3 or 4 other teammates. He and the defense have allowed just under 7 goals per game this year, ranking second in the nation in D-III.

Should be a close. low-scoring game. Maybe single digits for both teams.

Winner gets Dickinson on Saturday.

[nevadajoe]

Scranton gets a home game in the first round of the tournament hosting John Carroll on Wednesday at 4:00 PM. The winner will travel to meet Dickinson on Saturday.

John Carroll will be representing the Ohio Athletic Conference for the 8th year in a row. They are nationally ranked in giving up just under 7 goals per game. They have given up double-digit goals in just two games early in the season. They started the season 1-4 and are currently on a 10-game winning streak.

This will be their 8th straight appearance in the tournament.

2016 - Lost to RIT 29-6
2017 - Lost to RIT 29-8
2018 - Lost to Elizabethtown 9-6
2019 - Lost to RIT 20-5
2021 - Lost to F & M 19-6
2022 - Lost to Union 14-7
2023 - Lost to Dickinson 19-3

This will be Scranton's third appearance in the tournament and second straight.

2011 - Lost to Gettysburg 8-3
2023 - Lost to Gettysburg 22-9

This should be a fairly even game. If the Royals play offensively at the level that they have in their three Landmark tournament games, they should be a handful for the John Carroll defense. Scranton probably has a more athletic offense than John Carroll has seen all year and they are very adept at moving the ball and taking high percentage shots. The Royals also have a pretty solid defense of their own and they will need to play at a high level as well. It also is a plus that Scranton will be at home, where they are 7-1 this year with their only home loss coming to Salisbury 12-5 in the first game of the season.

It should be a close, maybe low-scoring game but I think the Royals will prevail and get a rematch with Dickinson on Saturday.

In fairness, John Carroll has also won 4 games in the first round.

2017 - John Carroll 14 Albion 9
2019 - John Carroll 7 Hope 6 (OT)
2022 - John Carroll 11 North Central 3
2023 - John Carroll 23 Lake Forest 3

[LI_Lax14]

If things go as planned in this play in game, I do believe Scranton has a punchers chance against Dickinson given the result earlier this year. Royals are playing with momentum and could catch Dickinson off guard.

[laxdad30]

Scranton knocks out John Carroll in OT 10-9.

On to Dickinson 5/11/24

[puckman44]

Congrats to the Royals on their first NCAA tournament win in program history.

[nevadajoe]

Scranton joins Goucher (5-4 win over Washington College in 2012) and Elizabethtown (9-6 win over John Carroll in 2018) as the only Landmark teams with wins in the NCAA tournament.

[nevadajoe]

An obscure Landmark connection to the Illinois Wesleyan-Tufts game on Saturday.

Attackman Ike Eastburn from Illinois Wesleyan was recruited out of Colorado to and played for Goucher in the COVID-shortened 2020 season. When Goucher opted out of play in 2021, he transferred to Whittier College and played the 2022 season there. When Whittier discontinued the men's lacrosse program in 2022. he transferred to Illinois Wesleyan, where he led the team in goals with 51 and helped the team get to the NCAA tournament in 2023. And he had 31 goals this season and also 3 goals in their first win in the tournament on Wednesday over Aurora 15-10.

Illinois Wesleyan travels to Tufts for their game on Saturday. It has been quite the lacrosse journey for Ike Eastburn.

[Fortunecookie]

Disappointed not to see any Landmark Players included in the All-Americans selections.

I thought Gismondi or Pierce had a shot.

[NjLax18]

That’s not the real All-American list. The real list hasn’t come out yet. All of the lists besides the USILA and the Coaches All-Americans are a joke.

[nevadajoe]

Scranton has a chance today in their second round game but they will have to play a flawless game against an exceptional defensive and offensive which has lost just 2 games, both of them to tournament teams (Christopher Newport and Swarthmore). In their regular season game, Dickinson just rolled over Scranton in the first quarter to take a 6-0 lead and went on to win the game 12-9.
Scranton's keys to a win:
Keep the game close in order to put some pressure on Dickinson for all four quarters.
Play with energy on defense and cause Dickinson's offense to take uncomfortable shots.
Win 50% of the faceoffs.
Play with patience on offense by moving the ball and taking high percentage shots and stay away from trying to go one-on-one in the middle of the field dodging to the goal.
Get exceptional play from their goalie and defensive midfield.

It's been a great season for Scranton. Hopefully, they can keep the season going this afternoon.

[Motorman]

That’s not the real All-American list. The real list hasn’t come out yet. All of the lists besides the USILA and the Coaches All-Americans are a joke.

Not perfect but pretty close.

[nevadajoe]

Give credit to Dickinson's defensive game plan as they completely frustrated any offensive efforts by Scranton and took an easy 10-3 win in the second round of the tournament. Scranton's offense was never in sync as Dickinson used an energetic slide package and great scouting to thwart any offense success by the Royals. Scranton scored 2 goals in the later minutes of the first quarter, both on man-up opportunities. But Dickinson shut down the next four man-up opportunities and played a solid six-on-six defense to keep Scranton scoreless for a full three quarters until the Royals scored one with 18 seconds left.
Also give credit to Dickinson's roster depth. Their All-Conference FOGO and a starting attackman did not play due to injuries but their replacements stepped up and both performed very well. Ben Trucksess went 10 of 14 at faceoff with 10 ground balls and back-up attackman Charlie Baughan had a goal and 3 assists.
The Dickinson defense was so good that goalie Pat Scarborough only needed to make 4 saves on 6 shots.
Declan Allen played an outstanding game in goal for Scranton with 14 saves. Connor Cole, with 3 caused turnovers and 2 ground balls, and Andrew Lord, who grabbed 5 ground balls, put in solid defensive performances for Scranton.
All in all, it was a great season for Scranton. They won 14 games tying the team record that they set last year for wins in a season. They dominated the Landmark Conference tournament and won their first ever NCAA tournament game.

[Laxguy92]

Any way too early predictions on the 2025 Landmark? I’m hoping some of the seniors stick around and use their COVID years in the landmark because I’m afraid if they don’t the quality of play will drop even further. I think the top 4 will be very competitive and can really see any of them taking it home, although I am hoping Susquehanna can get it done. I am thinking Catholic will be much improved, doesn’t seem like they’re losing much to graduation and have had a year to mesh with their new coach.

[Lax99]

Couldn't agree with you more! Catholic & Susquehanna are the only two teams out of the top four that are pretty much returning everyone. Not to mention Susquehanna this year had an incredible season. For them getting this far this season not having Marc Manfredonia and Chris Ciccarello, I see them definitely in the running again. Susquehanna loses Jozef Korpics, Ted Zaborowski as well as some key dmids & fogos. I am sure Coach Moan has guys who will step up. Catholic on other hand has a very young offense and is extremely talented on both ends of the ball. They are only losing 6 seniors to graduation. They are returning their whole defense and offense. I am confident both of these teams are going to make runs again .

I was at the Etown Vs Scranton game last weekend and heard that Brayden Franey is coming back for a fifth year, would not be surprised if some of his fellow teammates do the same. Etown this year took some hits with injuries like Susquehanna. Gio Raso one of the best defenders in the conference was out this year. I also did not see Derek Baldwin who played a huge role for them as a d-mid and offensive weapon the previous season. They are losing 16 seniors to graduation including Kilgour and Langen which will be big shoes to fill. Etown will look for revenge again next year as they are returning some pieces on offense and defense.

Shout out to Scranton on an incredible season. A great run in the tourney and they showed why they were the best in the landmark all year. Beating Susquehanna and Etown in a dominant fashion really showed that they scouted very well. I think Susquehanna and Etown were both caught off guard as many of us thought both of those games were going to be close. Scranton returns key players on offense including Kyle Holmes, Myles McCutcheon, Jason Kozak, Pat McCormack, & Carson Quinn. Declan Allen returns in net for the royals. Though Scranton is losing key players such as Colin Pierce, Andrew Lord, Kyle Bennett, Seamus O'Callaghan, Joe Boyle, Alex Eglitis, & Matthew McAree. I am sure they have guys in the trenches who will step up, but those are some really big losses for the royals.

[laxbro1955]

Great season. Scranton represented well. I hope this is t he last year for eligibility . It is going to be hard to get kids to commit feel bad for juniors that have waited to play there senior year and the seniors come back. Not everyone can afford a 5th year.school records are broken by playing more games. I saw the covid year those seniors only played 5 games. Landmark conference isn't what it use to be not that much competition the same 3 teams every year on top. Catholic great for two years because of covid with D1 transfers and now have fallen back to normal. Susquehanna should be good with a lot of returning players they way it should be with the younger guys developing rather than Transfer players or 5th year players.
Its all sports that need to go back to normal. The teams don't even know now if the kids will stay for 4years to know how to recruit each year.
Just my opinion I'm sure a lot don't agree but I think it made the field more even throughout the years in the past.

[Laxguy92]

Great season. Scranton represented well. I hope this is t he last year for eligibility . It is going to be hard to get kids to commit feel bad for juniors that have waited to play there senior year and the seniors come back. Not everyone can afford a 5th year.school records are broken by playing more games. I saw the covid year those seniors only played 5 games. Landmark conference isn't what it use to be not that much competition the same 3 teams every year on top. Catholic great for two years because of covid with D1 transfers and now have fallen back to normal. Susquehanna should be good with a lot of returning players they way it should be with the younger guys developing rather than Transfer players or 5th year players.
Its all sports that need to go back to normal. The teams don't even know now if the kids will stay for 4years to know how to recruit each year.
Just my opinion I'm sure a lot don't agree but I think it made the field more even throughout the years in the past.

I am all for whatever leads to this conference, even if that means extra years or transfers. This isn’t about it being a feel good moment for juniors who have waited to see the field but rather about the level of lacrosse being higher and teams being competitive.

I agree that there are peaks and valleys in this conference and that we are definitely in a valley in terms of talent, but I thought the COVID times of this conference were some of the best in terms of competing outside the conference and that may have been because of the D1 transfers (Crapanzano, Crowley, Kozak, Langen, Jacob Griffin) so I welcome it.

And in terms of that Catholic team, you act like they loaded up on transfers but I’m pretty sure that 2022 graduating class was one that was mainly 4 year guys (Hillery, Dunn, McShea, Baudo, Rockivic) that had gained lots of experience from early in their careers. Coupling this with adding ONE D1 transfer, that dominated the conference, I believe is still a correct way to build a team. They also beat a ranked W&L team and ranked Colorado College team and I think played a relatively close 5 goal loss with Salisbury.

Overall, if extra years/transfers make sense for the kids and their families AND make the teams/conference more competitive across the D3 landscape, I don’t see what is so wrong.

[laxbro1955]

I just feel that it will be the same 3 teams in conference getting the best transfers all the time. If they are good they won't be going to Wilkes or any of the other teams So the dominance will continue. Don't see how its good for the conference. In years past no team scored 20 to 30 goals against any team in conference before covid and 5th year eligibility. Some of the transfers will be these Juniors that see the senior coming back for 5th year because they put in the time and want to play but will prob leave the conf. They don't get a 5th year so this year coming is there last. When Etown won 3 championships and were on their way for a possible 4th there were no transfers on the team and they beat a lot of good teams out of conference. The playoffs games were not blowouts some were very close. All teams then were more competitive. Before town there was Catholic for 2 years, Susquehanna was there and Goucher. Since Goucher decided to cancel sports they have dropped off horribly.

[LI_Lax14]

I am willing to challenge that Etown was on their way to a 4th in '20. Despite a coaching change at Catholic the foundation that was discussed above for Catholic was there to roll. Listen their is an ebb and flow with any conference, adding the schools that we did certainly doesn't help credibility. With all of that said, its up to the coaches to recruit....Moan at Susq seems to be moving them in the right direction and Kyle Hannan is already improving what was once a dominant D3 program. The future is bright but its on the coaches to build and recruit.